No need to bake in the sun to get a sun-kissed glow. Kiss your pale winter skin goodbye with a bottle of self-tanner and a bit of know-how.

1. Test Drive
In order for a sunless tan to look natural, the colour can’t be streaky or drastically different from your skin tone. There are a wide variety of colours and ingredients to choose from and some will work for you and others won't. Do a test patch on your forearm before going all over. Wait a full day to see results. Many products have a dye to help you apply the product evenly and to give instant results and also have an ingredient that changes your skin pigment with exposure to oxygen over time.

2. Go Slow
Instead of showing up to work one day looking like you had a bath in a tub of dye, take it slowly. Think subtle and layer on your self-tanner one day at a time. If you’re nervous, try one of the gradual tanning lotions on the market, or mix self-tanner with your regular moisturizer to dilute it. Don't rush. If you need instant colour, see tip #7.

3. Exfoliate Well in Advance
Three days before applying self-tanner, exfoliate your entire body with a gentle scrub a buffing cloth, paying close attention to particularly rough or dry patches of skin. (Since your skin regenerates after exfoliating, doing it right before applying a self-tanning product may leave your skin looking patchy.)

4. Moisturize
To ensure the self-tanner goes on evenly, moisturize your skin right before application. Otherwise your dry skin will soak up the product and you’ll end up with a blotchy colour.

5. Apply
Wear gloves to keep the product from staining your fingers, wrists and palms. While you're applying sunless tanners, think of where the sun would hit your skin normally. Mimic a natural sun-kissed glow by applying the product to your shoulders and décolletage, the tops of your arms, and the front of your legs. Avoid your knuckles, knees, ankles, and elbows—places on your body with excess skin will grab onto more colour and appear dull and muddy. On your face, focus on your cheekbones, forehead, and nose. Put a bit too much in one place? Exfoliate that area a few times over the next week. The colour will fade as your skin cells come off.

6. Blend, Blend, Blend
Use long, smooth strokes when applying a cream-based formula. If you’re using a self-tanning spray, ask someone to do your back for you. For a seamless application, make sure you blend the tanner until there’s no more visible product on your skin. Use a damp sponge on the backs of your hands, the tops of your feet, and on your elbows and knees to keep application there to a minimum and to diffuse the colour.

7. Instant Fake
Don’t have time to prep? Afraid you’ll fumble the colour? Get a glow on the fly with bronzer. Apply the product only where the sun would hit your skin naturally. Choose a cream formula for your body (it’s easier to put on a larger area of skin) and a powder formula for your face. Keep the shimmer to a minimum and instead of using a frosted product, which should be reserved for the bar scene or the university crowd, choose one with a hint of sheen. And, of course, blend.